All Heroes Wear Capes, Right?
by Faulty Paragon
Summary: Qrow is good at a lot of things. As it turns out, sewing isn't one of them. Little Ruby doesn't care, though- she just wants to be like her hero. -some Uncle Qrow and baby Ruby fluff.


A/N: I suddenly thought of this and _knew _I had to write it. Not my usual style, but I like how it turned out. Let me know what you think!

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All Heroes Wear Capes, Right?

"Uncle Qwow, are you done yet?" The widest, most gorgeous silver eyes he had ever seen in his life peered over the edge of the table, chubby fingers gripping onto the ledge determinedly. Long, thick eyelashes blinked slowly, savouring every stab of needle into cloth, every sweep of thread, and every muffled curse that slipped past his lips.

He sighed. He had vowed, the moment he had seen Ruby Rose for the first time a scant few minutes after her birth, that he would protect her until the day he died. But this? This wasn't part of that contract. _What the hell am I even doing?_

It was a fair question. After all, Qrow Branwen was a man of many talents, but _this _fresh slice of domestic hell was certainly not one of them.

He could solve any puzzle, strategize so unconventionally that everyone knew he could get out of any problem. Nothing was too much of a challenge for him, and at the end of any confrontation, he walked away smiling, coolly confident and amused no matter what.

He could fight like no one's business, capable of taking an opponent down with or without his Harbinger scythe with ease- hell, if he wanted to, he could figure out exactly how to use nothing but his Semblance of misfortune to drop a building on an enemy in a pinch. He'd certainly done it before. And, due to his frequent visits to the shadiest dens in town, he'd most certainly do it many times again throughout the rest of his life.

He could sway anyone's heart, too. It didn't matter where he went- just a coy smile here, a brush of his greyed locks there, and his rough voice was treated as a purr. With just one look, he could find all the fluttering lashes and seductive smiles- and warm bedmates- that he could ever want.

And, for whatever reason, his liver could handle any and all the abuse he threw at it, leaving him painfully sober and ready to drink again come morning, no matter what foul alcohol he consumed day after day to numb the pain of knowing too much.

Sewing, however, was not one of his strong suits.

Growing up, Raven had always screamed at him when he tore anything he owned- they didn't come by new items very often in the middle of their isolated camps, after all- but after her rage had passed, she would always grab his belongings and begrudgingly sit down, needle and thread in hand and bitter death threats spewing from her lips as she clumsily darned whatever needed fixing. When he went to Beacon, Summer- and surprisingly enough, Tai- took over that task, the former simply loving the quiet task, and the latter having been surprisingly domestic for coming across as such a skater boy.

So, Qrow himself had very little experience in the craft of stitching things together. Yet, that didn't stop impatient fingers from tapping excitedly against the tabletop, a teeny head of dark hair bouncing up and down to his right.

"Uncle Qwow, you're gonna make me a Huntwess, wight?"

Qrow sighed, flashing five-year-old Ruby a wan smile. "I'm doin' my best, kiddo." He flinched as he pricked his finger for the nth time. But he knew he had to do it- if he didn't, Ruby would start crying again.

The little tyke had gotten it into her head that, since he always came home exhausted and injured, she should go with him. "If I go with you, I can pwotect you!" she kept insisting tearfully when he had tried to leave for his most recent mission. "All ouchies fly away!" And Tai had had to hold the little sobbing girl who squirmed in his arms trying to follow her uncle, her heartbroken screams ringing in Qrow's ears as he ducked the corner and flew away to begin his next reconnaissance mission.

When he came home after that mission, he had found a peculiar sight- little Ruby was waiting by the door, a red blanket tied around her neck. "I'm going with you next time!" she announced, propping chubby hands on her hips with cookie crumbs on her face and ketchup on her frilly skirt.

And, of course, Qrow had melted, snapped a quick picture on his Scroll for his private album of baby pictures (which he was most definitely going to use to blackmail Ruby and Yang in their teen years- what else was the point of being an uncle?) and scooped her up, readjusting her makeshift red cape. "I'm honoured," he had rumbled, tickling her until she collapsed in a fit of shrieks and giggles and joyful love.

Apparently, that had been the wrong response.

Ruby had attached herself to the idea of having a cape, and Tai was _losing his mind_. "She keeps taking my tea towels!" the blond cried one late, weary night in the kitchen. "Last week I had to remake her bed five times- she kept stripping the duvet completely off, and somehow kept tearing off the rest of the sheets _and _the mattress cover with it! She's not even tall enough to climb onto the bed without a step stool, so how is she doing it?!" He had hung his head despondently into his hands, leaving Qrow to pour him a glass of brandy and stifle his pitying laughter. Of _course _the little angel (read: sticky-fingered gremlin whom he loved with all his cold, black heart) had managed to drive her father mad.

_I can't wait until she brings a boyfriend home. You're going to lose it, Tai._

Mocking Tai ended up costing him, though- the moment he returned from his latest trip to Beacon, reporting his findings directly to Ozpin, all Qrow had found in the front door of the Xiao Long cottage was a tired Tai, a yard of red, worn cloth, a sewing kit, and a radiant Ruby.

"Dad said I can be a Huntwess too!" she cried happily. Tai's eyes flashed dangerously, and instantly, Qrow had figured out what sort of punishment duty he had been given.

So, Qrow was sewing Ruby a red cape to match his own. And, after what felt like _days _of slaving away (it was maybe two hours) the little cloth had been measured and hemmed, and a little hood had been sewn and stitched to cover the little girl's head. As he snipped away all the extra threads poking out of the seams, silently praising the CCTS video network for having tutorials for everything imaginable, the little girl pulled the hood over her head. It flopped over her eyes, and for a moment he wanted to apologize for doing such a terrible job- but then, she pushed the brim of her hood out of her eyes, and all he saw was pure adoration.

_"Uncle Qwow!" _And suddenly, a little body leapt onto him with the speed of a bullet, and he almost fell to the floor. He didn't, though- instead, he laughed, squeezing her tight with one hand while he closed the box of needles with the other.

"You like it?" he asked, bemused.

"It's perfect," she whispered in absolute awe.

He set her down on the ground, standing up and stretching the fifty kinks in his back that had developed after being hunched over for so long. "Alright, miss Huntress," he murmured at last, squatting low. Ruby instantly tuned in, eyes wide and rapt in attention. "I have a mission for you."

She nodded eagerly, the brim of her hood shaking with her movement.

Bringing his voice down to a whisper, he explained, "Look, kid. I've gotta go save the world. But that means I can't protect this place, y'hear?" Ruby gasped, and he nodded sagely. "So, _your _mission is to protect your dad and sis, okay?"

The little girl merely grabbed her cape with both hands and brandished it behind her, posing valiantly. "I'm a Huntwess. I'll do it!"

He nodded, holding out his fist to her. She bumped her own tiny one against his knuckles, and he grinned, standing up on creaky knees. The little girl immediately held the cape behind her and scrambled up the stairs, calling, "Sissy! Look at what Uncle Qwow made me!"

According to Yang's excited squeals of approval echoing down the hall, his handiwork was fully accepted by both his nieces. It felt good. Tai teased him later for his work. Qrow merely punched him on the arm and took another swig from his flask. He didn't mind the teasing, though.

So… overall, no- sewing wasn't one of Qrow Branwen's talents. And, over time, it continued to be a skill which he was lacking, unlike anything else the world could throw at him.

But he didn't mind it- that was what tailors were for, right?

And seeing twelve-year-old Ruby's beautiful, shining face light up even more brilliantly as she unwrapped a brand-new, gloriously red, soft-to-the-touch and light-as-air cape- a gift for entering Signal Academy at long last- was all the proof he could ever need; he didn't need to learn how to sew after all. Once was enough to spark her imagination forever. He was more than happy to spend his Lien on real capes- if it made his little niece feel like the hero he _knew_ she would one day become, it was all worth it.


End file.
